He became one of the biggest faces of pop music, but for the people of his home town Liam Payne will always be the boy from Wolverhampton who made it big.
Before he skyrocketed to fame as a fifth of the boyband One Direction, Payne was an ordinary teenager, studying music technology at the local college and competing in cross-country running competitions across the West Midlands.
“Everyone is really saddened by the news, but particularly in Wolverhampton because we felt like he was our superstar,” said Joel Clarke, 26, on a lunch break from his job at the city council.
“I think his death has touched a lot of people quite deeply. I just hope it leads to more mental health support for people, talking about the importance of support networks and just being a lot more forgiving to people. It’s just devastating.”
The former X Factor star died on Wednesday aged 31 after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires. He had spoken about his mental health and addiction struggles in recent years.
Payne grew up in Bushbury, a suburban area north of the city, where he lived with his parents and two elder sisters, and the family were close. One of the first things he bought after he shot to fame was a new car for his parents.
“Wherever I went, my dad used to tell people that I could sing,” he recalled in the 2013 One Direction documentary This Is Us.
A later clip showed his mother, Karen, becoming tearful as she talked about her son spending long periods away from home with the band. “I always believed that Liam would make it, but never this big, never in my wildest dreams. He goes away for so long,” she said.
Simon Bennett, the councillor for Bushbury North, lived around the corner from Payne growing up and they went to the same secondary school, St Peter’s Collegiate academy, two year groups apart.
“Thirty-one is no age to die. It’s just difficult to put into words,” he said. “There’ll be a lot of people in Wolverhampton who are upset, not just his friends and family, but fans, everyone. He’s a famous son of Wolverhampton, and it’s important we as a city remember him.”
He said he would support the idea of awarding Payne the freedom of the city posthumously – the idea had been proposed but never came to fruition.
“I think it would be important to his family, and for the city to remember what he gave to us, helping to put Wolverhampton on the map,” Bennett said.
Mia Tinsley, a 21-year-old university student, said she had been a fan of One Direction growing up but she had never managed to see them live.
She had hoped to see the band in the future at a reunion, but was sad to know she would never get the opportunity to see all five of them together.
“I had all their albums and posters in my room and everything. Unfortunately I never got to see them live but I know everyone was speculating about a reunion, so I was looking forward to maybe doing that in the future,” she said. “So many of the girls I know were One Direction fans, it’s all everyone is talking about.
“He was so young. And with him being local, it really hits people.”
Payne’s first foray into show business came through Pink Productions, a musical theatre company based in the city, which Payne joined aged 12 and starred as Tony Manero in a performance of Saturday Night Fever.
The company’s founder, Jodie Richards, said in a social media post: “I can’t even find the words. Goodnight mr p xxxxxx. Forever my tomato splatter. Memories for a lifetime.”
The singer Beverly Knight, who also hails from the West Midlands city, said she felt “immense pride that a young lad from my town had become a worldwide star”, adding: “I was also concerned that the spotlight had become a little too bright for such a young life.”
